Career Connections

Within each cluster, there are multiple career pathways that represent a common set of skills and knowledge necessary to pursue a full range of career opportunities within that pathway.

See Career Clusters main page

Career Connections is the area designed to help students prepare for careers and continuing education in a challenging and rapidly changing workplace. This service area provides connecting links for students in pursuit of career development and related career information resources. Connecting links include pathways, program models, or processes that lead to, or point the way to, career goals. The total concept of Career Connections includes the components of career information resources, career development, and career connecting links.

Course Revisions

The following courses were revised for implementation during the 2020-2021 school year. All curriculum frameworks are available through VERSO from the CTE Resource Center.

Career Exploration: Elementary Grades (9066)

Safety Best Practice Guide for CTE

The Safety Best Practice Guide for CTE-This is a Word document. is a collection of best practice resources used to assist school divisions in the development of a local safety school safety plan.

Instructional Resources

Career Connections Course Listing-This is a Word document.
Essential Competency List for Career Connections – Virginia's CTE Resource Center
Administrative Planning Guide for Career Connections

High Quality Work-Based Learning

Career and Technical Education Work-Based Learning Guide is based on the redesigned High-Quality Work-Based Learning (WBL) methods of instruction effective July 1, 2021. This implementation guide focuses on the twelve types of high-quality work-based learning (WBL) methods of instruction used in Virginia; job shadowing, mentorship, service learning, externship, school-based enterprise, internship, entrepreneurship, clinical experience, cooperative education, youth registered apprenticeship, registered apprenticeship and supervised agricultural experience along with opportunities for students to earn one credit toward graduation in addition to any credit earned thorough the associated CTE course in cooperative education, internship, entrepreneurship, and youth registered apprenticeship for completing 280 hours of work experience and one half credit for 140 hours of work experience in mentorship. It includes Virginia regulations and guidelines for the administration of WBL and provides training materials for high-quality work-based learning coordinators. School divisions should use this guide to implement WBL offerings locally.

Federal and State Labor Laws for Youth Work-Based Learning – Know the Rules is a resource that compares federal and state labor laws for nonagricultural and agricultural occupations, parental exemption, and prohibited and hazardous occupations as they relate to youth work-based learning.

Outside Resources

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